Long Winter
by thatblue
Summary: Rose is troubled, and the Doctor tries to help.


The Doctor had lived a very long time, he was fortunate enough to have a bigger on the inside ship that he used to travel the universe, and in those travels he had seen immeasurable amounts of beauty. He had seen it in planets of ice, or fire, and in those covered with flowers, or blown by wind. He had found it in nebulas with funny little names given by funny little brilliant humans. He had witnessed it in people, species big and small, and it had never and would never fail to make his hearts stutter as he saw good trying to conquer.

Lately though, all other forms of beauty had been outshined by one little creature. It was one tiny human, by the name of Rose Tyler. Or, as he called her in the privacy and safety of his own head, his Rose.

Currently, his Rose was in one of the larger gardens of the TARDIS. There was artificial light and heat being fed into the room, and the images of twin suns that made his hearts ache whenever the room set itself that way.

Rose had been in there all day; despite his best efforts to lure her out with what he thought were brilliant ideas. She had told him she was staying there, and there was nothing he could say that would change her mind.

At first it had confused him, watching her laying there simply soaking up the warmth of the room. She had been a bit quiet the last couple of days and this simple action made him worry. The last few adventures hadn't been anywhere especially cold, or unusually cruel, so why was she seeking warmth as if she was freezing from the inside?

He had sat in the console room for a while, after his last failed attempt, when he finally realized what was happening. He knew that sometimes a soul found a rough cold patch, which was like a long winter burning up all at once. When that happened, he had found the body sought out heat in whatever form it could be found, until at last spring broke over.

He was far too cold, and still much too broken to be that for Rose, but he was standing in a space ship and he had a large mind rippling with possible destinations that would help.

He understood that what Rose deserved, and what he was could not and would not ever be the same things. Rose deserved a diamond ring, and a house that never moved. Rose deserved solid, and steady, and a family as big as she liked.

He would never be good at any of those things, but until she realized how greatly he was lacking, until she decided she was much better off back on Earth…he was going to spend every minute that he got with her trying as hard as he could to come close. He would get as close to her perfect as the troubled rebel that made up him allowed him to get.

To that regard he set the coordinates, waiting until they landed, and headed off to the garden again. He wasn't going to accept no for an answer this time. This was Rose, and even if this was one of those things that happened from time to time, it was his job to try to ease her pain. It would be his job far beyond the day that she left him for Earth, because Rose Tyler beat within his hearts and he was never going to stop trying.

He entered the garden, ignoring the suns and the flowers; this wasn't what he wanted to be looking at right now. He came upon her near the small pond, in pretty much the same position that she had been in the last time. If anything she looked as if she was melting comfortably into the soft grass beneath her.

He didn't have to say anything, his shuffling was enough. She groaned, and rolled to face him, but didn't sit up or open her eyes.

"Doctor, I already told you, I'm staying here. So if there are man eating plants that you need help with, or creepy crawlers that shouldn't have been brought on board but have escaped their places, you will just have to handle it on your own."

She sounded wearier than he had ever thought he had heard, and he bit his lip. So what if that had been his first and second attempt to draw her out? It had been for her own good, he knew that sitting still wasn't good for an aching soul.

She sighed, and settled back into her melting position, deciding it was best to ignore his presence. He glanced down at her and for a fleeting moment he thought about kissing her. He wanted to do it pretty much every second of every day, and it would remind her that he was very much there and there for her.

But his palms began to sweat, and his hearts thumped, his mouth suddenly dry. He decided that when it came to Rose he was a coward.

"Rose, you'll like this, I promise," he said, his voice as gruff as he thought he could get away with. She didn't respond so he added, "Please."

He gave her another minute, and then decided to act. They would have to go back into time if she didn't come soon, and he didn't want to ruin this moment. He leaned over, and slipped his arms beneath her body, lifting her easily.

She protested, but he kept on. He left the garden, knowing there was something better in store. He had tried to do this nicely, with her using her own legs, and reminded her of that. It seemed to make her protest a little more colorful, and even with a few words that she must have overheard because he wouldn't have taught her.

Finally, nearing the console she stopped struggling, allowing him to enjoy her easy weight in his arms. He found himself wanting her to be obstinate more often, because he thought he might like to do this again. She was warm against his chest, her head against his shoulder, and he could breathe in a scent of Rose that should be bottled.

Of course he would have to buy every bottle, because she was his, and he might have jealousy issues. Just maybe.

He got to the doors, which opened to him.

He sat her on her feet, and grabbed her, pulling her to his side before she could even think of retreat. She didn't fight him, finally looking outside. It was ice and snow, covering the ground as far as the eye could see. In the distance were snow covered mountains.

She shivered, even though none of that cold was making it through the force field thanks to the TARDIS. This was a cold from inside her, a cold he was trying desperately to cure.

"It's beautiful," she said, but it was without her normal enthusiasm.

It hurt him, but he whispered, gently, "Just watch."

He had seen beauty in this universe, but this planet was beautiful in a unique way. It was the only one he had ever found like this, and this event they were about to witness happened only once a year.

She watched, dutifully, and he thought of kissing her again. He wondered if he would be able to warm her up, simply by loving her. Of course, she didn't know that fact and he couldn't tell her. He shouldn't tell her, he really shouldn't.

The first indication was the sudden stop of the snow, and then the air outside, that they couldn't feel, suddenly began to heat. The snow melted in only minutes, and the grass began to grow thick and bright pink. Flowers popped up, and covered the ground, and could be seen on those distance mountains.

He heard Rose gasp, and he looked over at her, willing to miss one beautiful thing for another one. Her eyes lit up, and he knew that this had been a good idea.

He looked back out, and the TARDIS beeped that the temperature had stabilized outside, all in the matter of ten minutes. He took her hand, so glad that she was already following him out.

Outside they walked, conversation was light, but he could see her warming inside out. He hoped that he helped, that it was more than this one of a kind event, but even if it wasn't him, he was glad it was worked. The air was warm around them; the two suns above him didn't make him want to vomit.

Rose had her hand in his, and he felt peace. Maybe she would stay for a while, he still knew forever was too long to ask, but if she could stay… maybe he could thaw. He didn't know if there was still any hope, but if anyone could bring spring back into him, it would be her.


End file.
